Confusion is not a state but an anxiety which has been engorged in the system of many people. It has made people take hasty decisions which they regret their entire life. Everyone has at some point in their life been confused, so was Alekhya not once but many times.
Confusion has always been a part of Alekhya’s life. She was born in Vijayawada and studied in Dwarka school, Hyderabad. She has always been a silent kid. Languages intrigued her; she used to talk to her sister in English since she was 7 years old. She considered herself to be an average girl in academics scoring around 70% consistently but that never discouraged her. Marks were never important to her. She did her intermediate and degree in Hyderabad, this was the time when her confusion started. Commerce was her background and her father wanted her to be a CA and so she gave entrance exams for CA but couldn’t succeed for 3 years. She was confused if she should pursue what she likes or do what her father wants. She didn’t want to disappoint her father so she never expressed that she was confused, she wasn’t sure what she wanted. Soon she could see through the mist and she understood CA wasn’t what she wanted to be, her father too supported her and gave her time to think. She then started preparing for CAT. She scored well and got admission in CMS business school, Banglore.
But the confusion continued, Alekhya wasn’t sure if she should take up Finance or Marketing. All of her family wanted her to take Finance but she had different plans. It took her two semesters to decide and understand that she wanted to pursue Marketing as her major. “Confusion gives clarity. When you are confused you have a biased opinion on one thing, no matter what people say you should always believe in that one thing, that’s your intuition talking to you.”
Alekhya started her career as a content writer in CA Technologies which was a contract job for 6 months. She also did content analysis and market research for another company which was also a contract job. In 2014 she lost both her jobs back to back. More than anything else she lost her favourite person, her grandfather. There was a moment when she was so lost that she locked herself up for 2 weeks. She kept asking herself, “This is not what I asked for; this is not where I should be.” Situations like these can change a person’s life; it can make or break a person. Alekhya let her aggression go away and she started to calm down. She wanted to look forward, to make her life meaningful. But then she was again confused on how should she start a new chapter, should she start a new business or should she look for a new job? She had many ideas for her business, like a clothe merchandise or a baking shop. Amid of all this confusion, she met her boss who is a family friend. He was looking for someone who could head the market research team and so Alekhya became the head of that team. She is still working in Expand.io for more than 3 years.
“Confusion is good. Confusion will lead you to different options. It doesn’t matter if you fail there will always be another way. Keep believing in your intuition, that inner voice that always tells you what’s right or wrong.”
So, confusion has never stopped Alekhya from getting clarity in her life. She embraced all the ambiguous moments and came out as a person whenever forgot her passion. She still bakes chocolates. She never gave up on that. Alekhya is now looking for a change in her stream; she wants to shift to a management job, co-working spaces which she feels is inspiring.
Message to women:
“It is alright to be confused, never take decisions in haste. Discuss your problems with someone or write them down, no one knows you better than yourself.”